Feeding and switching brand food

Hi
Arlo is 9 weeks old. He is eating Kirkland brand puppy food that breeder had him on. My 9 yr old eats Blue Buffalo and I was going to switch new pup to Blue as well. My vet felt that Kirkland was fine as long as it was large breed puppy food. Also I feed him 3 times a day about 1/3 cup per serving. Now I'm thinking this isn't enough. Is Kirkland good enough? Should I switch. Am I feeding him enough?

Most people would recommend keeping a young puppy on the food they came home on for several weeks to try to avoid tummy upsets, let them settle in. Many new members have said their pups do not tolerate Blue Buffalo, they cannot get the puppy to have normal stools, they're too soft or too runny. Blue is not a popular food here, maybe adults tolerate it better than puppies. I can't think of anyone feeding Kirkland now but I don't think we've done a recent survey. I know some have fed it successfully. I'd stick with a puppy formulation or All Life Stages food and wouldn't rush to switch Arlo to something else. When the current bag of food is nearly finished you may have some other recommendations from people here that you want to try.

1/3 cup sounds very low to me. How much does Arlo weigh now? When I got my lab pups, the boy came home at 9 weeks of age eating one cup of food 3 times a day. The baby girl came home eating 3/4 cup of food 3 times a day. Both were on Purina Pro Plan Puppy food from different breeders.

Ditto all above except 1/3 cup is what my breeder had Oban start out on, three feedings a day. It was not the same food though. Did you get directions on when and how to increase food? I was to weigh puppy every second week and go by the weight gain. Also using my hands on ribs and eyes as well to judge amount.

Chloe was sent home on Kirkland, but at the time we didn’t have a Costco so switched her to Pro-Plan. The breeder’s dogs all did very well on it though. I would leave him on it at least for now - as others have said, I have known many people who weren’t happy with Blue, although we used it for a short time with no problems on an adult dog. I do think 1/3 cup is very low - mine came home on about 1/2 cup 3x a day and within a few weeks were up to 3/4-1 cup 3x a week. We just went by weight gain, trying to keep it at a steady rate. The amount does depend on the calories in the food though - a richer food would require less, so there’s no exact answer.

Hi
Arlo is 9 weeks old. He is eating Kirkland brand puppy food that breeder had him on. My 9 yr old eats Blue Buffalo and I was going to switch new pup to Blue as well. My vet felt that Kirkland was fine as long as it was large breed puppy food. Also I feed him 3 times a day about 1/3 cup per serving. Now I'm thinking this isn't enough. Is Kirkland good enough? Should I switch. Am I feeding him enough?

My Labs all came home eating all life stages foods. I've never fed "puppy" food to any of my dogs (Labs or other breeds). My most recent puppy was fed ProPlan Sport 30/20 at his breeders and that's what he still eats at 18 months. My other dogs came home on Kirkland and were on that food through teething, and grew up without issues that we sometimes see in puppies like pano (sometimes referred to as "growing pains"). I personally don't like to switch a puppy's food early on. Their bodies are already adjusting to so much. Also, if you went to a breeder you trust, you might want to talk with them about feeding your puppy. Reputable breeders often have reasons why they use a certain food -- they should know their lines and what their dogs do best on generally. They also should be a good sounding board for feeding questions. If they kept a littermate to work or show, how much are they feeding their puppy? How much do their puppies normally eat around 9 weeks?

All of my dogs were eating 3 times a day at 9 weeks of age, and probably a cup per meal. A 9 week old puppy has an immature immune system, so I don't like to keep puppies at my house skinny, any more than I would want to keep a 9 week old child skinny. These baby puppy stages; Labs grow in fast spurts. I'd rather nourish a young puppy and gradually ease back on food once adult teeth are in and growth has plateaued.

Thank you all. Arlo weighed 15 pounds when we brought him home last week. I upped his food today and will keep him on Kirkland until a little later in his life. Funny but 9 years ago when I got my first lab Blue was the popular food. I will wait for a bit before I switch food brands. He seems to go poop about 5 times a day. They are firm and he's doing

The Following User Says Thank You to Arlo puppy For This Useful Post:

I kept both of mine on the breeders choice until they were done teething. Both had different puppy foods. We had to drive about 45 minutes to pick them up. After laboring about puppy food I just came to the realization that there is so much going on with a puppy and they were doing well on the food before coming home. It’s not worth the trouble and stress to switch them so early in life.

Hi
Arlo is 9 weeks old. He is eating Kirkland brand puppy food that breeder had him on. My 9 yr old eats Blue Buffalo and I was going to switch new pup to Blue as well. My vet felt that Kirkland was fine as long as it was large breed puppy food. Also I feed him 3 times a day about 1/3 cup per serving. Now I'm thinking this isn't enough. Is Kirkland good enough? Should I switch. Am I feeding him enough?

Hi, the Kirkland is probably fine, although I won't feed anything that is made by Diamond. However I agree with everyone else, that you do not want to change his food while he is growing, as long as he is growing and healthy and poops are good, I would not mess with it. I would absolutely not feed Blue Buffalo even if it was given to me for free. There have been a lot of recalls and lying about their food, in fact there is a Class Action suit against them right now due to their misrepresentation of their foods.

Now the amount of food sounds really low for a growing Labrador puppy, my 8 week olds are eating 2.5 - 3 cups a day by the time they leave for their new homes, so a total of one cup a day (1/3 cup, three times a day) is not near enough nutrition for the puppy to grow on and thrive, during the highest growth rate period of their lives. My 6 month girl old puppy Miley just got dropped down to 3 cups a day after eating 5.5 cups for a few months, she grew a lot and played a lot and churned through those calories! She will probably drop to an adult maintenance amount of around 2 cups a day before she hits a year. She only has a small layer of fat under her skin and I can feel ribs with a little pressure. I feed for growth, like you would a human child, and never restrict calories, although I am careful not to over feed at the same time.